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North Korean GPS manipulation disrupted dozens of planes and vessels: South Korea

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Passenger planes are seen on tarmac at Gimpo Airport in Seoul, South Korea, on November 9, 2024.

Passenger planes are seen on tarmac at Gimpo Airport in Seoul, South Korea, on November 9, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

South Korea’s military said North Korea disrupted GPS signals from border areas for the second-straight day on Saturday (on November 9, 2024), affecting an unspecified number of flights and vessel operations.

Tensions between the rival Koreas have escalated as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un flaunts his advancing nuclear and missile programme and engages in electronic and psychological warfare, such as flying thousands of balloons to drop trash and anti-South Korean propaganda leaflets in the South.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korean operations to manipulate GPS signals were detected from around the western border city of Kaesong and the nearby city of Haeju on Friday and Saturday (November 8 and 9, 2024), and said the activities disrupted dozens of civilian aircraft and several vessels.

While warning aircraft and vessels near western border areas, South Korea’s military did not specify how North Korea was interfering with GPS signals or detail the extent of disruptions.

“We urge North Korea to stop GPS interference provocations immediately and strongly warn that it will be held fully accountable for any resulting consequences,” the South’s joint chiefs said in a statement.

North Korea’s GPS signal disruptions and balloon campaigns highlight the vulnerability of South Korea’s Incheon International Airport, its main transportation gateway, analyst Sukjoon Yoon recently wrote on the North Korea-focussed 38 North website.

North Korea boasts of ‘world’s strongest’ missile, but experts say it’s oversized

The airport, which carries 56 million people and 3.6 million tons of cargo annually, is less than 100 km (62 miles) from North Korea.

“No major aviation incidents have resulted to date, but GPS interference can endanger commercial airlines flying in poor visibility, and it is a violation of international conventions on navigational safety,” Mr. Yoon wrote. He said that in 2024, North Korean trash balloons halted the airport’s runway operations 12 different times for a total of 265 minutes.

Mr. Kim has shown more hostility this year toward Seoul’s conservative government — which maintains a hard line on Pyongyang — with the North abandoning its long-standing goals of reconciliation with its war-divided rival and rewriting its constitution to cement South Korea as a permanent adversary.

North Korea also blew up sections of its unused road and rail routes linked with the South in October in a symbolic display of anger toward Seoul, and opened November with a flight-test of a new intercontinental ballistic missile to dial up pressure on Washington.

South Korean officials say North Korean activities to disrupt GPS signals from western border regions increased as the country began launching trash-carrying balloons toward the South in late May, which the North described as a retaliation against South Korean civilian activists flying anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets across the border.

Aside from North Korea’s weapons demonstrations and non-conventional provocations, there’s growing concern over its reported provision of military equipment and troops to Russia to support President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine. South Korean officials say the deepening military alignment between Moscow and Pyongyang could possibly result in Russian technology transfers that increases the threat posed by Kim’s military nuclear programme.



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Probe into U.K. royals’ private estates sparks calls for reform

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File picture of King Charles III, with Prince William, left, in the background

File picture of King Charles III, with Prince William, left, in the background
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Britain’s royal family is facing calls for more transparency and reform of their private estates after an investigation alleged they have been profiting from public bodies while benefiting from major tax exemptions.

The U.K. media probe also accused the estates of King Charles III and his eldest son Prince William of making big profits from charities and individual renters while in some cases failing to meet environmental standards.

The centuries-old estates – the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall – have made millions of pounds (dollars) from lucrative deals with the publicly-funded National Health Service (NHS) and other cash-strapped ministries, according to the investigation.

Both estates – portfolios of land, property and assets across England and Wales held in trust for the king and his heir – are exempt from paying UK corporation or capital gains taxes.

The extent of their holdings and commercial deals, such as lease agreements, is not publicly disclosed.

But the probe by U.K. television network Channel 4’s Dispatches programme and The Sunday Times claims to have uncovered them for the first time.

It has prompted calls for a review by parliament as well as demands by pro-republicans for the duchies to be abolished.

Norman Baker, a former lawmaker from the centrist Liberal Democrats party and longtime royal critic, told AFP the findings confirmed his view that the royals were “taking the public for a ride”.

“These are Crown lands which belong to the public… all that money should be going into the Crown Estate, which is a public asset,” he said.

‘Pursuing profit’

The royals have long maintained that profits from the duchies fund their public, charitable and private activities.

The duchies, owned by the monarchy since the Middle Ages, were not part of a 1760 agreement which sees the monarch’s Crown Estate profits surrendered to the government.

Fifteen percent of those profits are returned as a Sovereign Grant, which pays for official engagements, staff salaries and the royal palaces’ upkeep.

Next year the grant will total £132 million ($171 million).

Baker notes the vast private estates were not included in that arrangement because at the time they did not generate much income.

But two centuries on, their assets are worth £1.8 billion, with profits topping £50 million in 2023, according to their annual reports.

It has helped keep Charles on The Sunday Times Rich List, which ranks the 1,000 wealthiest people or families in the UK, with an estimated worth of £610 million.

Lucrative deals leasing land to the crisis-hit NHS, armed forces, publicly-funded schools, charities and renters have boosted his bottom line, according to the media probe.

In one example, Charles’ estate will earn nearly £12 million over 15 years storing a new fleet of electric ambulances owned by a London hospital in one of its warehouses.

In another, William’s estate will net £37.5 million over 25 years from the Ministry of Justice for leasing the currently empty Dartmoor Prison.

Graham Smith, head of anti-monarchy pressure group Republic, said the investigation “shows how the duchies are doggedly pursuing profit at every turn, at huge expense to the public and charities”.

The duchies have denied any wrongdoing.

‘Within the law’

It is not the first time that they have stoked controversy.

In 2006, an influential parliamentary committee pressured the government over why they benefit from major tax exemptions.

Baker said the Public Accounts Committee should refocus on it. “It’s only under pressure like that that they’ll change,” he added. “Unless they’re forced into doing something, they won’t do it.”

The former MP believes the royals are “in danger of losing public support big time” over the issue.

But David Haigh, head of consultancy firm Brand Finance, argued the duchies are operating like “any large aristocratic family estate”.

“Is it really unreasonable for them to expect market rate rents when they rent properties to government agents and departments? In my opinion it’s not.”

Haigh added the estates were “simply acting within the law in the best interests of their private capital,” comparing them to successful entrepreneurs like James Dyson and Richard Branson.



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Hurricane Rafael weakens into tropical storm as it swirls over Gulf of Mexico after lashing Cuba

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Firefighters check debris from a house during a blackout after Hurricane Rafael knocked out the country’s electrical grid, in Havana, Cuba, on November 7, 2024.

Firefighters check debris from a house during a blackout after Hurricane Rafael knocked out the country’s electrical grid, in Havana, Cuba, on November 7, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Hurricane Rafael weakened into a tropical storm on Friday (November 8, 2024) as it swirled through the Gulf of Mexico where it was expected to break apart after plowing through Cuba, knocking out the country’s power grid and collapsing hundreds of houses.

On Friday night (November 8, 2024), the tropical storm was located 390 km (240 miles) north of Progreso, Mexico. It had maximum sustained winds of 110 kph (70 mph) and was moving west-northwest at 7 kph (5 mph), according to the National Hurricane Centre in Miami.

It was forecast to move westward toward Mexico in the coming days and forecasters warned that swells from the hurricane were likely to cause “life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.” Mexico’s government on Friday (November 8, 2024) warned of powerful rain, winds and waves up to 8 ft (2.5 metres) high in the Campeche, Quintana Roo and Yucatan states in the coming hours, asking citizens to take care.

A man walks at a flooded street a day after Hurricane Rafael made landfall in Batabano, Cuba, on November 7, 2024.

A man walks at a flooded street a day after Hurricane Rafael made landfall in Batabano, Cuba, on November 7, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

Forecasters said they expected the storm to weaken and “meander” over the centre of the Gulf through early next week. The hurricane tore through Jamaica and the Cayman Islands earlier in the week, knocking out power and fuelling mudslides. On Wednesday evening (November 6, 2024), it barrelled into Cuba, causing yet another headache for the island.

Rafael’s fierce winds knocked out Cuba’s electric grid, forced the evacuation of 2,83,000 people and collapsed 461 homes. It also left trees, power lines and rubble strewn across flooded streets.

On Friday (November 8, 2024), the Cuban government said it was able to restore power to approximately 1,43,000 homes in Havana, though many people were still without power.

Rafael followed a rocky few weeks in the Caribbean nation. First, it was hit by island-wide blackouts stretching on for days, a product of the island’s energy crisis. Shortly after, it was slapped by powerful hurricane that struck the eastern part of the island and killed at least six people.



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Canada ends fast-track visa programme for international students, Indians to be affected

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Representative image

Representative image
| Photo Credit: Mohammed Yousuf

Canada has closed the “The Student Direct Stream (SDS) ‘’, a faster Visa application process that helped international students secure visas quickly. A statement issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada on Friday (November 8, 2024) stated they have taken this step to provide fair and equal access to all foreign students to the application process for study permits.

The Student Direct Stream (SDS) was launched in 2018 to provide faster processing for eligible post-secondary students. Citizens of Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Vietnam could access this Visa programme.

The Canadian government justified the closure of the programmes stating their goal is to strengthen integrity and address student vulnerability.

The statement added that all eligible SDS applications received before 2:00 p.m. ET on November 8, 2024, will be processed under these streams, but study permit applications submitted on or after this time will be processed under the regular study permit stream. From now on, students need to apply through the regular study permit stream, which accepts Guaranteed Investment Certificates as proof of financial support.

The study permit is a document that allows foreign nationals to study at designated learning institutions (DLIs) in Canada. But the study permits require the student to submit provincial attestation letter (PAL) or territorial attestation letter (TAL) from the province or territory where they plan to study.

Canada’s Immigration and Citizenship website has mentioned that if anyone applies without a PAL/TAL, their application will be returned with fees.

The statement assured that these new changes wouldn’t create any hurdles for those who wish to apply for a study permit but has clearly mentioned that the students now need to fulfil Canada’s study permit application requirements.

The statement reads, “All students, regardless of whether they were eligible for the SDS or NSE, are required to meet Canada’s study permit application requirements.”



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Gold jewellery entrepreneurs meet held in Vijayawada 

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The Department of Financial Services of Government of India and Andhra Pradesh and State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) jointly organised a gold jewellery entrepreneurs meet here as part of the National MSME Cluster Outreach Programme on Saturday.

Chander Mohan Minocha, CGM (HR, Mumbai) of Union Bank of India (UBI) delivered the keynote address. Joint Director of Industries A. Sudhakar was the guest of honour. Vishwakarma Goldsmiths Private Limited CMD D. Srinivasa Rao, UBI regional head M. Sridhar, deputy regional head B. Harish and others took part.



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Leaving problems of people to winds, Ministers going on political tours: Harish Rao

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HYDERABAD

Senior leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) T. Harish Rao has observed that Ministers were busy in touring other States on political visits when the procurement of paddy and cotton is going on at a snail’s pace and the incidents of food poisoning in residential schools are going on unabated.

In a statement, Mr. Harish Rao said on Saturday that the Chief Minister and Ministers were busy in the election campaign in other States when there were a host of problems troubling farmers, students and other sections in the State. The paddy and cotton farmers were not getting support price and were forced to dispose of their produce in distress sales. On the other hand, there were incidents of some sarpanches, whose term was over, recently being forced to mortgage the gram panchayat buildings they constructed by borrowing money from lenders as the government was not clearing the bills even for completed works, he noted.

He reminded the ruling party how it had made a bouquet of promises in the name of ‘Abhaya Hastham’ manifesto to local bodies before the Assembly elections, wherein it had promised to enhance the honorarium paid to sarpanches, MPTC and ZPTC members. The fact, however, was that there were pending dues of honorarium to sarpanches and others.



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Governor participates in Uttarakhand Foundation Day celebrations at Raj Bhavan

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Governor S. Abdul Nazeer along with the students during the Uttarakhand Foundation Day celebrations, at Raj Bhavan in Vijayawada on Saturday.

Governor S. Abdul Nazeer along with the students during the Uttarakhand Foundation Day celebrations, at Raj Bhavan in Vijayawada on Saturday.

Governor S. Abdul Nazeer participated in the foundation day celebrations of Uttarakhand, at Raj Bhavan here on Saturday.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Abdul Nazeer said that Uttarakhand was rich in natural resources and the State is popularly called as ‘Dev Bhoomi’, the land of gods, due to the presence of some of the most ancient temples of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri, Char Dham and other shrines.

The programme began with a video message of Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Gurmit Singh, Governor of Uttarakhand, followed by traditional folk dance performance by the students.

Students of Uttarakhand studying in various educational institutions in and around Vijayawada participated in the event. Secretary to Governor Dr. M. Hari Jawaharlal, officers and staff of Raj Bhavan took part in the celebrations.



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Ahead of ICC security team visit, BCCI says Indian team won’t play in Pakistan for the Champions Trophy

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A view of the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai. Ahead of a visit by ICC security team, BCCI has officially communicated that it will not send the Indian team to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025.

A view of the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai. Ahead of a visit by ICC security team, BCCI has officially communicated that it will not send the Indian team to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Days ahead of a visit to Pakistan by the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) security team, to study the situation for the Champion’s Trophy next year, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially communicated that it will not send the Indian team to Pakistan for the tournament.

The decision comes despite several attempts by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), including during the recent visit of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to Islamabad, to convince the government to change its mind, including offering any special security arrangements required and choice of venue.

“We have officially informed the ICC about our inability to participate in games in Pakistan. We have made our stance clear that we will prefer a hybrid model, with the tournament split in two countries.” a BCCI insider told The Hindu. “We were asked to clear our stand and we have done it, in consultation with the (central) government.”

A hybrid model, that had been followed for other series in the past would mean India’s group and the Finals of the tournament due to be held in February-March 2025 would be organised in the UAE, a proposal that could see stiff opposition from Pakistan, sources said.

On Friday, the Pakistan Cricket Board chief and Pakistan’s Home Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi had dismissed Indian media reports that the BCCI had written about its decision to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Speaking to journalists at Lahore’s Gaddafi stadium Mr. Naqvi said that no country had discussed the “hybrid model” with them nor was Pakistan “willing to talk about it”. “We have been showing good gestures for the last few years and no one should expect us to do it all the time,” Mr. Naqvi said, adding that the Shahbaz Sharif government would take the final decision on how to proceed if such a proposal was given.

The Ministry of External Affairs had denied that Mr. Jaishankar had any “conversation” about resuming cricketing ties in Pakistan when he met Mr. Naqvi at a dinner during his visit to Islamabad for the SCO Heads of Government Meeting on October 15-16. However, at least two officials confirmed that the PCB had presented Pakistan’s case for India to travel with the Indian delegation there. According to the sources, Pakistan was prepared to let the Indian team spend only as much time in Pakistan as was required for the matches or practice, and would facilitate their return to India by air or by road over the border to Amritsar.

“This would mean that any time, they could return to India within 20 minutes”, an official said, referring to the drive from Lahore to the Wagah-Attari border. 

The PCB was also prepared to assure the BCCI of its choice of venue for all matches played by the Indian team, which would have the biggest security concerns to play in Pakistan given tensions between the two countries, and the absence of normal ties. In 2019, angered by India’s decision to reorganise Jammu-Kashmir, Pakistan had snapped trade and travel ties, and High Commissioners in both countries were expelled.

The officials said that Pakistan expected “reciprocity” from India, as it sent its team to play in the ICC World Cup in 2023, and will be expected to send its team for the Asia Cup being hosted by India in 2025.

The timing of the decision was made more awkward as BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, who is the son of Home Minister Amit Shah, is also the President of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), and is set to take over as ICC chairman on December 1, and would not want any allegations of being partial to his own team being levelled in that position. As a result, sources told The Hindu that all the formal announcements with regard to the tournament fixtures would be announced before Shah takes over the ICC reins.

With time running out for finalising the fixtures, the ICC had set the BCCI a deadline for Friday (November 8) to confirm their venue preference, and plans to send its security officials to Pakistan for a recce next week. BCCI president Roger Binny and secretary Jay Shah met with top BCCI executives at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai on Thursday, where they drafted the formal communication that was shared with the ICC.

“It’s an ICC event, so there is no question of dealing directly with the tournament host,” the source said. “The ICC has been preparing for a hybrid model for a while. The tournament budget for the hybrid model was also approved in the last ICC Board meeting (in October).”

Last year, a similar situation had arisen when the PCB was forced to host the Asia Cup in Pakistan and Sri Lanka due to India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan. Pakistan held no international tournament from 2009-2019 after the terror attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team, but has held several bilateral series in the last few years, and views the return of the first such multilateral event as a prestige issue.

The ICC Champions Trophy is an eight-team ODI event, a quadrennial event sandwiched between the ODI World Cups. India, New Zealand, Pakistan and Bangladesh are clubbed in a pool, with the top two proceeding to the semi-finals.



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ऐपल दिवाली सेल इस दिन से शुरू, खूब बढ़ियां ऑफर पर मिलेंगे iPhone समेत कई सामान! अलग से भी खास ऑफर

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फेस्टिवल सीज़न के मौके पर फ्लिपकार्ट और अमेज़न ने अपने-अपने प्लैटफॉर्म पर खास सेल लाइव कर दी है. अब इसी कड़ी में ऐपल ने भी सेल का ऐलान कर दिया है. ऐपल के ऑफिशियल वेबसाइट से पता चला है कि कंपनी 3 अक्टूबर से दिवाली सेल की शुरुआत कर रही है. फिलहाल ऐपल ने सेल में मिलने वाले सभी ऑफर्स का ऐलान तो नहीं किया है, लेकिन कुछ ऑफर और बेनिफिट की जानकारी पहले ही दे दी गई है. उम्मीद है कि सेल में ऐपल iPhones, MacBooks, Apple Watches जैसे सभी प्रोडक्ट पर कोई न कोई ऑफर तो जरूर दिया जाएगा.

सेल में ग्राहक बैंकों कार्ड की मदद से छह महीने तक की नो-कॉस्ट EMI का फायदा पा सकेंगे. इसके अलावा ये भी कहा जा रहा है कि सेल में बड़े दाम पर एक्सचेंज ऑफर दिया जाएगा, जिसके तहत अलग-अलग प्रोडक्ट की खरीदारी करने पर बचत की जा सकेगी.

ये भी पढ़ें- महिला ने फ्लिपकार्ट सेल में मंगाया iPhone 15, एक नहीं दो-दो आ गए डिलीवरी बॉय, फिर जो हुआ…

ग्राहक सेल में कुछ Apple डिवाइस के खरीद पर ऐपल म्युज़िक का तीन महीने का सब्सक्रिप्शन पा सकेंगे, और इसके लिए उन्हें अलग से कोई कीमत नहीं चुकानी होगी.

इसके अलावा ऐपल ऑफर के तहत फ्री में पर्सनलाइजेशन ऑप्शन देगा.इससे यूज़र्स अपने एयरपॉड्स, एयरटैग्स, ऐपल पेंसिल, या आईपैड पर इमोजी, नाम या नंबर एन्ग्रेव (लिखवा) कर सकते हैं.

बता दें कि जब पिछले साल ऐपल ने दिवाली सेल का ऐलान किया था तो ये सेल करीब एक महीने तक चली थी. खास बात ये है कि उस सेल में ग्राहकों लेटेस्ट लॉन्च हुए आईफोन सीरीज़ के आईफोन को भी ऑफर पर खरीदने का मौका मिल रहा था, इसलिए उम्मीद की जा सकती है कि इस साल भी कंपनी इस साल लॉन्च हुए आईफोन 16 सीरीज़ से सेल में लिस्ट करेगा.

ये भी पढ़ें- साल की सबसे बड़ी छूट पर मिल रहे हैं ब्रांडेड TV और फ्रिज, वाशिंग मशीन के ऑफर देख खरीद लेंगे आप

अमेज़न, फ्लिपकार्ट पर भी आईफोन पर ऑफर…
बता दें कि मौजूदा समय में फ्लिपकार्ट की बिग बिलियन डेज़ सेल और अमेज़न पर चलने वाली ग्रेट इंडियन फेस्टिवल सेल में भी आईफोन के कई मॉडल को सस्ते दाम पर उपलब्ध कराया जा रहा है. अब अगर आईफोन 15 प्रो फोन को फ्लिपकार्ट सेल में खरीदेंगे तो इसे 99,999 रुपये में लिस्ट किया गया है.

इसके बाद अगर आप HDFC बैंक कार्ड लगाएंगे तो इसकी कीमत 5,000 रुपये कम हो जाएगी. फिर इसके बाद अगर आप एक्सचेंज बोनस का फायदा उठाते हैं इसपर 5,000 रुपये और घट जाएंगे. यानी इसके बाद इसका फाइनल प्राज़ 89,999 रुपये हो जाएगा.

अमेज़न डील की बात करें तो आईफोन 15 प्रो को 1,09,900 रुपये में लिस्ट किया गया है. फोन को अगर अमेज़न पे ICICI क्रेडिट कार्ड से खरीदेंगे तो आपको 5% यानी कि 5,495 रुपये का डिस्काउंट मिल जाएगा.

Tags: Apple Latest Phone, Diwali Sale



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1996 की SUPERHIT फिल्म, 5 साल में बनकर हुई तैयार, रिलीज के बाद हीरोइन ने बॉलीवुड से कर लिया था किनारा

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04

IMDb

‘घातक’ की ज्यादतर शूटिंग बनारस शहर में हुई थी. इसमें डैनी डेन्जोंगपा की खलनायकी के खूब चर्चे हुए थे. विलेन कात्या का रोल निभाकर वह छा गए थे. ‘घातक’ में डैनी और सनी के बीच जबरदस्त टक्कर देखने को मिली थी. मुकेश ऋषि, दीप ढिल्लों, टीनू वर्मा, टीनू आनंद, अंजन श्रीवास्तव और केके रैना जैसे सितारे भी फिल्म में नजर आए थे. (फोटो साभार: IMDb)



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